A Complimentary Music Theory Overview for the Guitarist, by Steve OnoVisit the Onomuse Web Site at http://www.onomuse.com/

to order more guitar instruction methods

Music Theory is NotNuclear Physics!

MUSIC THEORY-Spaceintervals: Scales:

Major Keys & Minor KeysMajor and Natural Minor Scales

Chords/Arpeggios:Triad chords

Seventh ChordsThe Relative Minor

Three Chord RockThree Major Chords

Three Minor ChordsThe V can be V7 in Major & Minor

Three Dominant 7 in the BluesSecondary Dominant (V of V)

MUSIC THEORY-TimeGrouping-Time Signatures

4/4, Cut, 3/4, and Beat CountingDivision by 2: Eighth Notes

Division by 3: Triplets/Compound MeterDots & Ties

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The Shuffle and SwingDivision by 4: Sixteenth Notes

Division by 6: Sixteenth Note Triplets &New Jack Swing

Three Ways to Learn a Song“The Usual Suspects”

Deep SpaceSeventh Chords Modes

Harmonic MinorMelodic Minor

SubstitutionKeys / The Circle of 5ths

Scale SpellingsThe Note Maps

Music Notation Interval MapsThanks for downloading this little book, which

was written in the hope that we all play better. If you like itplease check out the other Onomuse books.

Beginnings: 12 Lessons for the Fresh GuitaristCan Ambitious Guitarists Even Dream?Cheap Tricks for the Lazy GuitaristInterval Graphics

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MUSIC THEORY-SpaceMusic Theory is the lifelong study of all musicians and

applies to all instruments of the western world. Here’s aSketch of “The System”.

The Twelve Musical notes of the Chromatic Scale (Allnotes flats & sharps included) are like the letters of theAlphabet. Scales are like languages. Chords are like words;each “spelled” with certain notes.The Basic Musical Structures are:

Intervals: The smallest interval is the half step (onefret) or minor 2nd (m2). A Scale made of half steps is theChromatic Scale.

The next smallest interval is the whole step (two frets)or Major 2nd (M2). A Scale made of whole steps is called aWhole Tone Scale.

The Minor 3rd (m3) is common to all “minor” scales &chords. The Major 3rd (M3) is common to all “major” scales& chords.

All of the basic Intervals are listed below with half stepcounts.

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Every different type of scale, chord/arpeggio and pair of

notes has a unique and specific INTERVAL FORMULA.

Scales: The 12 Chromatic notes are grouped intotwelve 7 note Diatonic Major and/or Minor Scales each withthe same whole/half step interval structure but a differentgroup of flats or sharps. Scale steps are Numbered 1-7 inAlphabetical Order. If the 7th of “A” should be the note “G” itmight be “G#” or “Gb”, but it has to be “G” something. Is it am7 or M7?

The eighth note is called the “Octave” and has thesame name as the first note.

Each Key has a Key Signature with specific sharps orflats to keep the interval structure intact.

There is much more about different scales and intervalformulas in my book: INTERVAL GRAPHICS.

The most basic moods of Music are split into two

groups of sounds: the Major Keys & Minor Keys.I like to call them the Good Guys and the Bad Guys. Listento the hero’s theme from a movie and compare it to the vil-lains.

Each pair of 7 note Major and Natural MinorScales have exactly the same notes counted from twodifferent Root Notes in alphabetical order. The 8th Noteup or down is called the Octave and will have the samenote name you started with.

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The C Major Scale and A Natural MinorScale are from the only Keys with no Flats or Sharps.Every other key needs at least one flat or sharp.

Chords/Arpeggios: The Diatonic scale is “Harmo-

nized” into Triad chords (3 notes) & SeventhChords(4 notes) by taking every other note in the scaleand playing them all at once. In a Major Key Triads the 1st,

3rd and 5th scale steps is the One (I) Chord and the 2nd,

4th and 6th is the Two (IIm) Chord and so on.

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The Relative MinorThe VIm is the Relative Minor Chord and becomes the

“One” chord ( Im ) of the Relative Minor Key. Eg: C - Am.This is the Bad Guy Key’s Main Chord renumbered as

one instead of six. The order of Chord types, Major, Minor &Diminished, is unchanged.

Three Chord RockYou might notice that the I, IV and V chords of the

major Key are all Major and that the I, IV, and V chords ofthe minor key are all Minor.

The Major I - IV - V & the Minor Im - IVm - Vm are thebasic triad chord progressions.

In a Major Key, the Three Major Chords arethe primary chords (I, IV & V) and the three Minorchords are the secondary chords (IIm, IIIm & VIm).

In a Minor Key, the Three Minor Chords arethe primary chords (Im, IVm & Vm) and the threeMajor chords are the secondary chords (III, VI & VII).

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The V can be V7 in Major & Minor:There is only one Dominant 7 chord in any key, Major

or Minor, and its number is V. Use of the V7 with I & IVTriads is traditional in folk music. The Minor V7 is a result ofthe Harmonic Minor Scale and is used with Im & IVm triads.

The 3 chords now are: I - IV - V7 & Im - IVm - V7.All Three chords are Dominant 7 in the

Blues ( I7 - IV7 - V7 ).

Secondary Dominant (V of V)In the Key of C, the second chord (II), is a minor

chord: “Dm”. If you see a “D7” we are not in “C” anymore.D7 is the V7 of “G”; G7 is the V7 of “C”. D7 is the “V of V”AKA Secondary Dominant.

This a Key Center Change to a neighboring Key. If weare in the Key of “C” then the new Key is “G” or “Gm” andthe “V7” of “G” or “Gm” is D7. This also helps determinewhich scale(s) the Lead Player uses for soloing.

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If you need to know what Key you’re in, count the scalebackwards five steps to find the root of the I or Im chord.Or you can count up four steps to get the same note.

Up 4 or down 5, it adds up to NINE!If you go to the Fifth of any chord, you can create a

Secondary Dominant Chord that leads back to that chordand each time it is in a new Key. Other chords from that Keymight show up now too, particularly the II Chord.

You can even step back from one Secondary Dominantto another and create a chain of them, the V of V of V etc.The Old Timers called this “going around the Horn”.

These are the Main Chord Movements.They are the basis of everything in music that doesn’t soundstrange. In other words, if it sounds “conventional” it is mostlikely inside this system.

Remember illiterate folk musicians have known andused this system for centuries and they couldn’t even readand write.

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Any combination of chords is possible, of course, butonly a few are real classics.

Here are a few “Basic Changes”.

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Space: A Quick ReviewBefore you start shaking your head in confusion

remember these facts:There are only Twelve Chromatic Notes each one a

Half Step apart.There are only Seven Notes used in any Major or

Natural Minor Scale.They are counted one to seven in alphabetical order.

There is no Zero!The Eighth Note, the Octave, is always the same note

as the First.The Interval Formulas remain the same in all Keys!

Each Major/Minor Key has the same interval structure, thesame order of whole steps and half steps.

Flats & Sharps happen in all Keys except C/Am butthe notes always remain in Alphabetical order (Db or D#instead of D).

Triad Chords have Three Notes. Seventh Chordshave Four Notes.

There are Three Primary Chords of Any Major or MinorKey. They are the One (I), Four (IV) & Five (V).

The Three Minor chords are secondary chords of theMajor Key.

The Three Major Chords are also secondary chordsof the Minor Key.

Any Dominant Seventh Chord is some Key’s V (Five)chord.

Chord Changes can be called using a NumberSystem and these are not big numbers like in math class.

Can you count to thirteen on your fingers and say thealphabet from A to G over and over?

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MUSIC THEORY-TimeAll Rhythms are based on Groupings AKA Time Sig-

natures and Divisions: 1/8 notes, triplets & more!The Only Important numbers are 2 & 3.

Time Signatures

The Top Number indicates “How Many” notes.The Bottom Number tells us “What Kind” of note.

4/4, Cut, 3/4, and Beat CountingThe most “Common Time” is “C” or “4/4” meaning four

quarter notes per measure or bar. Next is Cut Time: 2/2AKA “Two Step” and the threecount Waltz: 3/4 & 3/8.

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Division by 2: Eighth NotesHalf as long? Or twice as fast? Both statements are

true about eighth notes compared to quarter notes.

The Eighth Note count: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and

Division by 3: Triplets/Compound MeterThree is the other division of rhythm in music. In 4/4 time,

Triplets are indicated by the “3” over or under the group

of three notes. This is called a “Triplet sign” andsqueezes three notes into the time usually reserved for two.

Triplets can be fixed as the normal division of rhythm with

Compound Meters such as 6/8 & 12/8.If you want two straight eighth notes in 6/8 you

need to use a duplet sign, a “2” instead of a “3”.

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Dots & TiesTies are Rhythmic Glue.Tying a half note to a quarter note makes a 3 beat note.

Dots add 1/2 value.Dotting a Half note also makes it 3 beats long.Tying a quarter note to an eighth note makes it worth

one and a half beats.Dotting the Quarter Note also make it worth one and a

half beats.

Dots work only within the Measure.Ties can cross the Bar Lines.The number of beats tied is calculated by basic addition.

This is a real popular beat! The “and” of beat two is tiedto beat three, then the “and” of three is struck leading intobeat four.

This is called “Syncopation”. We play the off beats!

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The Shuffle and SwingTriplets without the “trip” are the best way of describing

basic “Swing”. This fascinating rhythm is the heartbeat ofRock, Jazz, Blues and Country.

Straight Eighths are even and clock like: “tic toc tic toc (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ).

Swing Eighths are like a heartbeat:“lub Dub lub Dub”(-let 1 -let 2 -let 3 -let 4 -let ).

Swing Feels can be indicated at the beginning of

the tune with the Swing Indicator telling the musicianto play all Eighths as SwingEighths or all Dotted EighthSixteenth pairs as SwingEighths.

The Rolling Feeling continues.

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Division by 4: Sixteenth NotesThe count is 1 e & a, 2 e & a, 3 e & a, 4 e & a

The picking is always Down /Up.These double beam or flag notes make the

groove happen in Funk and R & B.

Division by 6: Sixteenth Note Triplets &New Jack Swing

Beginning with James Brown and nurtured By JimiHendrix, Swing Sixteenth rhythms have become the founda-tion of the new Hip-Hop beats.

Eighth Notes Rock. Triplets Roll.Sixteenth Notes Run.Sixteenth Note Triplets Hop.

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Time: A Quick ReviewFractions you can dance to: that’s what the beat of that

OLE’ Jungle Drum really is. The ancient Greeks thought ofMusic as a branch of Mathematics. We just need to countthe beats, then play what we count. Here are the Facts!

There are only Two Small Numbers, 2 & 3, that are thebasis of all Rhythmic Grouping and Division.

Key Signatures tell us the Grouping & Beat Count.Cut Time (2) 1 2Waltz (3) 1 2 3Common Time (4) 1 2 3 4Five/Four (5) 1 2 3 4 5Six/Eight (6) 1 2 3 4 5 6Seven/Four (or Eight) (7) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7Two bars of four (8) 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4Nine/Eight (9) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Twelve/Eight (12) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Note Values show us the Divisions of the Beat:

Divide by 2 = 1/8 notes March,Rock

Divide by 3 = 1/8 triplets Stroll,Swing

Divide by 4 = 16th notes Funk,R&B

Divide by 6 = 1/16 triplets HipHop,AlternativeIs there a Divide by 5? Yes, a Quintuplet. Is there a di-

vide by 7? Yes, a Septuplet. And, of course, Divide by 8 is32nd notes.

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Three Ways to Learn a Song1) Show it to me. Watch someone’s hands and imitate

their chord movements. It is very important that a guitaristlearn how to do this well. You must recognize the chords ornotes when other guy is playing them and learn how toanticipate the changes.

2) Reading Music and Chord Charts. The Traditionalskill of reading Music Notation is very very handy and willimprove your musical communication with all instruments.Reading Chord Charts is an absolute must! Hours of hardrehearsal can be saved.

3) Playing By Ear. Since the Sheet Music for most poptunes comes out after the song has left the charts, learninga hit song by ear has been essential since the 1940’s.

Always write a chord chart so you don’t have to figure itall out again and, if you can, transcribe the important partand solos. Transcription is writing in music notation thenotes & chords that you figure out by ear.

The Usual SuspectsIn order to Play by Ear, you need to be a good detective.

Play a Recording of a song you want to learn.Fact: the Bass Note is the lowest note of the chord.1) Search the low E string fret by fret until you find a

Bass Note that works most of the time, especially the firstdownbeat (1). Remember that if you are not in tune you willnever find a matching note. Is it the Very First Bass Note?

2) Look that note up on the Note Map; let’s say it wasthe note “A”. So “A” becomes our First Suspect. Does thechord above the bass note sound Major or Minor?

3) If it is A Major, check out the D and the E (E7) for the

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next chord or two. If they bothwork then we’re in the Key ofA. Secondary chords are theRelative Minors: F#m, Bm &C#m.

4) If it is A minor, checkout the Dm and the Em (E7)chords. If they both work thenwe’re in the Key of Am. Otherpossibles are the RelativeMajors: C, F and G.

5) What happens if none of these chords work?Major: the “A” Major chord is also in the Keys of D and

E, any chords from the keysof D or E could happen too.This adds the Key of D’s G,Em & A7 to our Major KeySuspect List along with theKey of E’s B, B7 & G#m.

Minor: Am is also in theKeys of Dm and Em andany chords from the keys ofDm or Em could happentoo. That adds the Key of

Dm’s Gm, Bb & A7 along with the Key of Em’s Bm, B7 & DChords to our Minor Key Suspect List.

These Keys are related to the Original Key.It is more likely that chord changes from the Keys that

are nearby and related to the original key will be used thanchanges from Keys that are far away and which have noth-ing in common.

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Deep SpaceSeventh Chords

Chords are Stacks of Notes. Three Note Stacks arecalled Triads. Four Note Stacks are called SeventhChords.

The Note Numbers are recounted from the Root of eachChord (Arabic Numeral “1” for the scale step).

Triads: 1 (Root), 3rd and 5th

Seventh Chords: 1 (Root), 3rd, 5th and 7th

The Root position stacks above are almost unplayable ona guitar but easy on piano.

Any combination of the same notes will give you anotherdifferent “Chord Voicing”.

Seventh Chords are much more colorful than triads.Major Seventh (maj7) is used for Romantic or heavenly

sounds.Dominant Seventh (7) has a positive, playful mood but

also BluesyMinor Seventh Chord (m7) is a softer smoother nicer

minor sound.Minor Seventh Flat Five (m7b5) has a much darker

more dramatic sound than the minor triad.20

ModesThe Major / Minor sound of the diatonic scale is a matter ofpoint of view, since all of the notes are the same.

There is a point of view for each note, the Modes of theMajor Scale. Each Chord has a Scale called a Mode. EachMode has a chord:

“Imaj7” Ionian (Major) “IIm7” Dorian“IIIm7” Phrygian “IVmaj7” Lydian“V7” Mixolydian “VIm7” Aeolian (Natu-

ral Minor) “VIIm7b5” LocrianIonian & Aeolian are The Main Modes and the Main Key

Centers for Traditional Classical Harmony.Modes are used for ImprovisationOver a Major 7 chord, two modes can be used: Ionian

& Lydian. Over a Minor 7 chord, three modes can be used:Dorian, Aeolian & Phrygian. The Dominant 7 chord getsthe Mixolydian Mode and the Minor 7 flat 5 chord gets the

Locrian Mode.

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Harmonic MinorThe Harmonic Minor Variation of the Natural Minor Scale

has a Major Seventh instead of the Minor Seventh in theInterval Formula: R M2 m3 P4 P5 m6 M7 R

The Harmonization is more dramatic than the NaturalMinor is: Im/maj7 IIm7b5 IIImaj7#5 IVm7 V7 VImaj7VIIdim7 Im/maj7

This is the Classical Minor Scale used in Flamenco &Sicilian Music.

The “I” is Minor /Major Seventh (m/maj7) in theoryonly. In practice, a normal Minor Triad (m) is used.

The “IV” is a Minor or Minor Seventh Chord.And the “V” is a Dominant Seventh Chord (7) often

with a Flat 9 (b9) or Sharp Five (#5).Another common “Change”: “II” (m7b5) “V” (Dom7).

It is usually mixed in with the Natural Minor:Im VII VI V7Im7 VImaj7 IIm7b5 V7

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Melodic MinorThe Melodic Minor Variation of the Natural Minor could

also be looked at as a Major Scale with a Minor Third. Thereis now a Major Sixth to go along with the Major Seventh inthe Interval Formula: R M2 m3 P4 P5 M6 M7 R

The Harmonization creates some interesting parallelascending chords: Im/maj7 IIm7 IIImaj7#5 IV7 V7 VIm7b5VIIm7b5 Imaj7

We call the Melodic Minor scale: Jazz Minor.All Three Scales; Natural Minor (Major), Harmonic Minor &Melodic Minor, have “Modes”.

Some of the Melodic Minor Modes have names.“I” Minor/Major“III” Lydian Augmented“IV” Lydian Dominant“VI” Half Diminished or Locrian #2“VII” Diminished Whole Tone

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SubstitutionIn Jazz and Modern Classical Music many of the rules ofHarmony and Melody have been expanded and altered.Jazz Musicians have come up with Chord Substitution Sys-tems to guide them in creating and releasing chord ten-sions.

Enharmonic SubstitutionIf the chords have exactly the same notes but in a different

order, substitute them.

Diatonic SubstitutionIf the chords share three out of four notes they can be subsfor each out as well.Here are the major Key

Diatonic Subs.

DiminishedSubstitutionThe Dominant 7b9 with out the root is a Full Diminishedchord based on the b9 & all of the other Chord Tones!

G7b9 = G B D F AbAbdim7 = Ab B D F

Flat Five SubstitutionDominant 7 Flat 5 chords whose root notes are a Flat 5thapart have exactly the same notes:

G7b5 = G B Db FDb7b5 = Db F G Cb

They & their related chords can be swapped.Shared notes means Substitutable chords

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Keys / The Circle of 5thsKeys other than “C” are made by Flatting (b) or Sharping

(#) certain notes to maintain the Major Scale pattern.Keys are indicated by a Key Signature written right after

the Clef in Music notation as shown in the Circle of Fifths.Each Major Key has a Relative Minor Key.

Each Flat Key begins 5 Major Scale Steps Down from theRoot note of the Previous Key and keeps any Flats it had. ANew Flat is added at the 4th Step.

Each Sharp Key begins 5 Major Scale steps Up from theRoot of the Previous Key and Keeps it’s Sharps. A NewSharp is added at the 7th Step.

The Keys of Db & C#, Gb & F# and Cb & B areEnharmonic Keys.

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Scale SpellingsHow long has 2 X 2 = 4? Since Euclid wrote it down or

since the Dawn of Time?

The Scale Spellings, like the Multiplication tables, are notgoing to change any time soon and should be memorized.

Major & Natural Minor Scales are the same Notes with

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different starting numbers.There is a #7 in the Harmonic Minor Scale and a #6 &

#7 in the Melodic Minor Scale.Chord Changes from Harmonic Minor are often mixed in

with Natural Minor.Chord Changes from Melodic Minor are used in Jazz

mostly.

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The Note MapsThe Keyboard Note Map has all notes lined up in order

with white keys for Natural Notesand black keys for Accidentals.

The Guitar Note Map is laidout in a Grid Pattern with Whiteand Black Dots instead of Whiteand Black Keys.

Keep it tuned up in StandardTuning: E6 A5 D4 G3 B2 E1,these note locations will neverchange.

The other instruments haveother kinds of Note maps but allof the chromatic notes remain thesame.

The Note Map we all share is

Music Notation.Remember! Literacy is Good!Ignorance is Bad!

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The Notes of the Treble Clef & Bass Clef are arranged inalphabetical order going up the staff.

T h e s e Interval Maps showrelationships to the note “C” on boththe keyboard and the guitar. This Mapmust shift as the Key or chordschange.For more complete information aboutMusic Theory and Guitar, check outthe other Onomuse Books. Begin-nings: Twelve Lessons for the

Fresh Guitarist Can Ambi-tious Guitarists Even Dream?

Cheap Tricks for the LazyGuitarist Interval Graphics

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